Coeur d'Alene hires communications coordinator

COEUR d'ALENE - Former newspaper reporter and public relations officer Keith Erickson has been hired to serve as Coeur d'Alene's communications coordinator.

As a contract employee, Erickson, 50, will work with City Hall department heads, council members and city staff to maximize public awareness on city news, issues and events through news releases, social media, website updates and public contact.

He is replacing the city's former spokesperson, Kristina Lyman, who has moved on to help with her family business. Erickson does not have a contract with the city. He said he is just filling in until the new city council is seated in January and decides whether it wants to fund the position.

Erickson will report to City Administrator Wendy Gabriel.

"The city knew I was interested," Erickson said. "I've seen the need for the city to hire a public information officer for a long time, whether it was me or someone else."

A longtime Coeur d'Alene resident, Erickson currently serves as spokesman for Coeur d'Alene's urban renewal agency, the Lake City Development Corp., also a contract communications position.

Erickson said he is working 15 hours a week for the city and seven hours a week for LCDC. He is billing them at a rate of $50 per hour.

Serving as the public relations officer for the city and LCDC, Erickson said could be a benefit for both organizations.

"I see it as a bonus; they compliment each other," he said.

Previously, Erickson was employed by Ambassadors Group in Spokane as a writer and public relations specialist for the Discovery Channel's student travel program. Prior to that, Erickson covered community issues as a reporter for the Coeur d'Alene Press for 14 years.

Erickson earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Washington State University in 1987.

He can be contacted at [email protected]. His cell is (208) 819-0907.